GOD IS MORE TOLERANT THAN HE

USED TO BE Is it Now Safer to Sin?

Is God Is More Tolerant Today?

How do we answer those who insist that God is more tolerant today than He was in the Old Testament?

Today Everything Has Changed

No more stories of Nadab and Abihu No accounts of people like Uzzah We want to know whether we are free to

sin We want to know whether it is safer for

others to do wrong today

God Unchanging

We can affirm that God has not changed His standards are the same He has chosen to interact with people

differently

Amazing Consistency

The attributes of God revealed in the Old Testament are affirmed in the New

In the Old Testament we see the severity of God but also His goodness

We see His strict judgments, but also His mercy

The same balance of attributes is found in both Testaments

The penalties also have not changed and His mercy also remains immutable

God Unchanging

 God’s nature does not change God’s standards do not change God has not changed and will not change

in the future

I the Lord do not change. Malachi 3:6 NIV

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 NIV

God’s Administration Has Changed

Why are the Old Testament penalties not carried out?

God’s judgments abide, but His method of managing them has changed.

This change in management can be represented in three contrasts between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion (Calvary). Hebrews 12:18-29

Sinai vs. Calvary

Sinai was covered with clouds; Zion is filled with light

Sinai is symbolic of judgment and death; Zion is symbolic of life and forgiveness.

The message of Sinai was “Stand back!” The message of Zion is “Come near!”

The Old Covenant versus the New Covenant

 Jesus is the mediator of “a new covenant” (Heb. 12:24)

Under the Old Covenant

God made a covenant with the entire nation

There was no separation between religion and the state

There was no freedom of religion in the Old Testament era

Under the New Covenant

Jesus taught it would be possible for His followers to live acceptably under a pagan government

First, God would no longer deal with one nation, but with individuals from all nations

Second, in our era, we are to submit, as far as possible, to worldly authorities

Our Agenda As a Church

Is not to take over nations, politically speaking

It is the transformation of nations through the transformation of individuals

Why do we not put people to death today as was done in the

Old Testament?

We have no authority to judge those who are outside the fellowship of believers

The state is to penalize those who commit certain crimes

All the behaviors that merited the death penalty in the Old Testament are infractions for which we now discipline believers within the church

It is foolish for us to think that we can sin with impunity just because Christ has come

Immediate, Physical Judgment versus Future, Eternal Judgment

 The greater the grace, the greater the judgment for refusing it

We should never interpret the silence of God as the indifference of God

We must come to Sinai before we come to Zion